. J _ , . . tffi , Cbe Conservative. 3 % inony is that there is practically none. Consolidation , of course , has a tendency to reduce the number of highly-paid officers , but nearly all those who reply to the question do uot think that it af fects the employees in general. An in teresting suggestion by Mr. Harding is that the "tendency on young employees or officers is to pusli them forward ; older officers being caused to give way for young , energetic men. " As to the best department for young men to enter , there is a difference of opinion. Messrs. Miller , Truesdale , O. D. Ashley and Harding , for instance , prefer the traffic department , while Messrs. Jeffery , Barr , Underwood , W. G. Van Vleck and others recommend the operating or mechanical sides. The majority , however , say , in one way or another , what seems to us to be un doubtedly the truth , that it depends largely on the young man himself , and the bent of his abilities and inclinations. In regard to the best kind of training , "a good common school education , coupled with the right kind of homo training and influence , " which are Mr. Truesdale's ends , express the opinion of the majority. Some few speak of a col lege education or of a course in a tech nical school , while many point out that the real training only begins when the young man enters railway service , which is itself the best and surest school. Altogether , the "symposium , " as it is called , is interesting. It does not de velop anything especially new ; but the unanimity of opinion as to the excellent opportunities which the service offers , and , above all , the wholesome insis tence in the need of a sound , even if elementary education , coupled with the good principles which result from the right home influences , have a note ol distinct encouragement and good cheer Railway Age. GENERAL PROSPERITY DEPENDENT UPON AGRICULTURAL PROSPERITY. It is admitted by all economists that general prosperity depends absolutely upon agricultural prosperity. The lar gest market for the products of agricul ture and for the products of the manu factories is admittedly the home mar ket. It is , however , true that the ex port trade is the regulator , the balance wheel , for domestic trade. Therefore it follows that the interest of the manu facturer , as well as of the farmer , is found in the most rapid possible increase of the export of farm products. By such exportations farmers and those engagec in subsidiary arts , who constitute nearly one-half of the population of the United States , and who mainly create the de mands of the home market for manu factured goods , will have an increasing power to buy those goods. On the other hand , the imported products o agriculture are limited in number. They ire mainly sugar , wool , hemp , coffee , ropical fruits , and nuts. Any commercial system which will ucrease with celerity and extend with certainty the export of farm products 'roin this country will bo of the xitruost advantage to agriculture and all those nterested in its profitable expansion. And that political economy which best advances the interests of the ngricultur- st furnishes the best impetus to the manufacturers of the United States , be cause when the prosperity of the Amer ican farmers is established by virtue of constantly increasing sales of his pro ducts in foreign markets normal and .egitimato protection will have been secured - cured to the American manufacturer , for his best customers are farmers and those engaged in occupations which de pend directly for profit upon the pros perity of farmers. The Ilust Market for American Product * * . The best foreign markets for Ameri can products and commodities are among those nations whose power to buy things and pay for them has been aug mented by the use of labor-saving in ventions. The principal market , there fore , for American exports is found in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and her colonies , which took during the fiscal year (1896) ( ) $511,751,040 worth of exports from the United States. That is to say , English-speaking people bought 58 per cent of all commodities and products exported from the Unitec States during the fiscal year 1896. Ger many , France , Holland and Belgium purchased during the same period oi time ยง 210,953,054 worth of exports from the United States. That is , the United Kingdom of Great Britain and the na tions enumerated purchased 81.9 per cent of the entire export output of the United States during the fiscal year 1896. Other nations , including the remain der of Europe , Asia , Africa , and South America , took the balance of American exports , which amounted to $160,902 , 844 in value and to 18.1 per cent of the entire shipments of this country. Questions for the American Farmer. The question for American farmers and all other citizens engaged in gainful occupations to consider is , how can the United States supply the markets of the world with staple food products ane necessary articles of manufacture ? 1 the labor cost of a product is governed by the rate of daily wages , how can a dollar's worth of farm products , or o commodities from manufactories in the United States , be sold in foreign parts Is not that nation , which like the United States , possesses the greates power and facilities for producing and manufacturing those exchnngeabl things which the world demands des tined to monopolize the markets of the globe ? Do not the most favorable nat iral conditions for varied and success- ul agriculture abound in the United States ? In what country is there loss nirdou of national taxation ? What What other people pay so little for the namtenanco of a standing army ? Who can compote with the American farmer or the American manufacturer in de veloping the best results of human toil vith a minimum , of human effort ? Ell'ect of Labor-Saving Inventions Wages. In the United States labor-saving in ventions are applied in almost every avenue of production. Nowhere else on the globe has agriculture so many im proved , useful , and ingenious devices , implements , and machines at its com mand. Therefore the exports of Amer ican farm products must increase ; and the sales from those exports , after yield ing adequate profits to maintain the farm , will also yield a higher rate of wages to those who do the mechanical and manual work than the wages paid in those nations which are our principal customers. Necessarily the wages paid in the United States for instance , in the production of wheat and cotton , the great articles of export are from 50 to 500 per cent higher than they are in those countries with which we compete in selling our cotton and wheat ; while in manufactures from the metals the wages paid those who make articles of iron and steel for export are from 25 to 100 per cent higher than the wages paid workers in the same industries by the nations with which wo compete. f Million * Depend Upon Foreign Markets. Under the foregoing conditions , about 1,700,000 laborers on American farms are almost constantly employed in devel oping agricultural products for expor tation. At the same time , with a rapidly in creasing export of manufactured articles from the United States , the number of laborers engaged in mechanical occupa tions , who must depend for their steady employment upon the demand which the world makes for American goods , is constantly increasing. It is probably quite safe to declare that at least two millions of American workmen , on farms and in factories , subsist almost wholly upon employment based upon foreign demand for American commod ities. And in this contest for feeding and furnishing mankind notwithstand ing the fierce competition which meets us all over the globe American agricul ture , manufacture , and commerce are steadily gaining more trade , and thus furnishing an enlarged wages fund , on a gold basis , out of which many thous ands of American laborers and skilled artisans draw thenyearly remuneration , and upon which they and their families largely depend for employment and com- fort.